SPECIAL EDITION: US V. Bush, The Indictment Has Been Written, Words of Power Interviews Elizabeth de la Vega

"If this particular grand jury is hypothetical and the agents fictional, the facts presented are neither. As any prosecutor would attest, an accusation of criminal wrongdoing -- official or unofficial -- should never be made lightly, nor should it be based on fiction or hypothesis. Therefore, the facts set out in this book have been carefully researched and are, quite tragically, all too real. The legal principles I have explained are similarly real, based on federal statutes and well-established case law.
Applying this long-settled law to these incontrovertible facts leads, unfortunately, to but a single conclusion: the President and his aides did, in fact, conspire to defraud the United States by deceiving the nation and Congress about the grounds for an invasion of Iraq."
Elizabeth de la Vega, US v. Bush, et al

SPECIAL EDITION 12-1-06: Words of Power Interviews Elizabeth de la Vega

By Richard Power

The USA is not Harken Energy or the Alabama National Guard or the Texas Rangers.

There must be accountability for the lies that led to the deaths of several thousand men and women of the US military, the deaths of several hundred thousands of Iraqis, the squandering of hundreds of billions of dollars, and the loss of strategic advantage and prestige in the world community.

In an interview with Robert Scheer, conducted just prior to the 2006 US mid-term election, Gore Vidal put it bluntly: “So this election, coming up, although it’s a mere off-year, this is the on-year election of all our lives. And if we don’t turn it around the right way, we’re not going to have representative government. We’re not going to have the people’s voice ever again expressed quadrennially in the presidential election, because they can falsify it each time now. So now’s the time to use a new Congress, hoping we get one, to tidy up.” (TruthDig, 11-21-06)

And Air America radio talk show host Randi Rhodes summed it up just as bluntly after both Houses of Congress had been wrested from the one party rule that has been strangling the US federal government for the last several years: "We, literally, just saved our country from fascism..."

But now what? How does this new Congress “tidy up” as Vidal suggests?

Elizabeth de la Vega, whose served for twenty-one years as a US federal prosecutor has given us all a powerful weapon –- US v. Bush, et al. Published by Seven Stories and Tom Dispatch,
US v. Bush, et al contains a bullet-proof indictment of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Powell, and is organized into fictional transcripts of a seven day Grand Jury presentation, complete with the testimony of investigators, court room banter and queries from Grand Jury members.

Whatever happens in Beltwayistan over the next two years, if you give a damn about the future, you should get at least two copies of this book, one for yourself and one for someone else who cares just as much as you do.

I have studied the nature of the political animal all my life, and despite all that has gone wrong in the psyche of the Democratic Party over the last few years, my feeling is that Nancy Pelosi has what it takes. She will prove to be the right person in the right place at the right time to put an end to this nightmare for the USA and its true friends in the world. If history confronts her with the grim task of removing these people from high office, if there is no viable alternative that would guarantee the health of the Republic, she will not flinch.

Bush will either be under what I call “White House arrest” (i.e., boxed in under the constraint of serious scrutiny) until the end of his term or he will face impeachment.

Cheney will resign and be replaced for whatever faux reasons they wish to fabricate, or he will face impeachment.

Rove too.

At this point in time, I have no problem with Pelosi and her lieutenants saying that impeachment is “not on the table.” What else could or should they say at this juncture? This Shakespearean tragedy will continue to unfold, with many more twists and turns, for the next six months or so…

All the matters between now and January 2007 is that those elected officials who constitute the new House and Senate majorities stay alive and get sworn in.

And once they have been sworn-in, and assessed their own security under the Capitol Dome, they must finish the job.

Do not let them off the mat. Do not let them catch their breath. Do not let them regroup. Never turn your back on a dangerous adversary until he is vanquished.

Finish it.

To some of you this statement may sound extremely partisan. But it is not. It is a sober assessment from a security and risk perspective. It has nothing to do with politics.

This is a question of national security, and national survival. These people constitute a threat to the Republic and to the US Constitution. They must be held accountable for the hurt they have inflicted on the USA. Or other men, just as crazy but much more competent, will rise to replace them. (US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia does “not want to deal with global warming,” because he is “not a scientist.” Newt Gingrich, who seems to be hell-bent on “losing an American city” in a nuclear terrorist attack, wants to “re-think” the First Amendment.)

It will become clear to you as you turn the pages of US v. Bush, et al that it is love of country and dedication to the highest human values which has motivated de la Vega. Just as I have been motivated by an understanding of security and risk, de la Vegas has been motivated to write this imaginative and captivating book from her perspective as a former officer of the federal court, someone sworn to uphold the US Constitution.

To read some excerpts from the indictment and the testimony of US v. Bush, et al, go to Tom Dispatch.

To purchase copies, go to Amazon or Seven Stories or better yet, to support a bastion of the Internet information rebellion, buy it from Buzzflash.

Here is the Words of Power interview with Elizabeth de la Vega:

Words of Power: In a recent post, The USA Needs A Scapegoat, I suggest the Bush-Cheney National Insecurity Team," I argue that from a geopolitical perspective, and a global perspective, the impeachment of Bush and Cheney (or at least a genuine effort to do so) is a strategic imperative. The USA needs to distance itself from the debacle of this regime. The USA needs to say decisively that the responsibility for the invasion and occupation of Iraq and for the violation of the Geneva Accords and the UN Charter, etc. fall on the shoulders of Bush and Cheney. There is no other way for us to recoup our position in the world. I know your work approaches this issue as a legal and constitutional challenge, but I would be curious if you had an opinion on this view?

de la Vega: You are correct that my book focuses on the Bush administration's fraud from a legal perspective, but, with that caveat, I think your argument is right on target. The president's deceit has diluted, if not eviscerated, the high level of respect the United States enjoyed in the world before he took office. We have no standing whatsoever to remedy, or even criticize, the human rights violations that occur in the so-called less enlightened countries, because we are engaged in the same conduct.

Words of Power: Just as we have a strategic geopolitical imperative to distance ourselves as a nation from what has been perpetrated under false pretenses and in our name, don't we also have a constitutional imperative, a constitutional responsibility to pursue impeachment and even war crimes prosecutions? What happens to the US Constitution if such heinous acts (the Iraq War, Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, Katrina, etc.) are allowed to go down in history unchallenged and unpunished? Does the Constitution become a hollow document? What kind of precedent is set for future administrations?

de la Vega: Again, I completely, and quite vigorously, agree with your analysis. The system of government that has prevailed in this country since its inception is one of checks and balances. The role and obligations of Congress are set forth in Article 1, and chief among those obligations is its duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. Neither Republicans nor Democrats should be sanguine about the idea of an unfettered President. This is particularly true in times of war because, as the "founding fathers" specifically discussed, war is the perfect vehicle for a chief executive or dictator to amass power.

Words of Power: It occurs to me that senators and representatives are also subject to impeachment, and if you examine the process by which the USA was lied into the invasion and occupation of Iraq, it is arguable that the scheme could not have been pulled off, or perhaps more important, perpetuated and covered up without the complicity of the Congressional leadership of the Party in control, particularly the Intelligence Committee Chairmen, notably Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS). Have you given any thought to whether or not such lines of investigation should be pursued, could be pursued, etc. Is there any precedent?

de la Vega: I have, frankly, not given that a lot of thought and I am not aware of any such precedent. At this point I believe our most important goal should be to educate and inform the public about the violations committed by the President, Vice President and their senior aides.

Words of Power: Likewise, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, etc. could not have been foisted on the US populace without the complicity of the US mainstream news media, in particular the major networks and the cable news networks, oh yes, and Clear Channel. (There is now a precedent of sorts in the international tribunal for the Rwandan genocide, i.e., radio personnel were convicted of crimes against humanity for their hate speech, which was carried out in synch with the slaughter.) Is there criminal or civil action (or both) that could be carried out against the US mainstream news media? How would conduct such investigations? What would they look like? Is it feasible legally? Don't such organizations have a responsibility in a democracy? Aren't they given special status to carry out this responsibility, i.e., to inform the public?

de la Vega: The media has unquestionably been entirely remiss in its obligation to inform the public. Unfortunately, we no longer have the Fairness Doctrine, which provided at least some protection against the one-sided and superficial presentation of "news" that we are now served on a daily basis. As long as the public continues to tune into news shows that are nothing more than drive-by shoutings of two to three word sound bites, I am afraid we are going to receive more of the same. I should add, however, that the Internet is rapidly increasing its influence and may result in pressure being put on the media.

Words of Power: How do presidential pardons and the impeachment process relate to each other? Does one cancel out the other? It occurs to me that since he can't simply write another signing statement on an impeachment, Bush could simply pardon himself and Cheney ahead of the curve on the relevant “high crimes and misdemeanors”? Is there precedent? Is this an issue? How would such a scenario unfold?

de la Vega: Impeachment is a political/legal process that begins in the House of Representatives, usually with hearings. If the House votes on Articles of Impeachment, the matter moves to the Senate where a trial would take place. Since the process is, by its very nature, premised on the separation of powers, it is one method of accountability that the President can not avoid through a pardon. Indeed, the Constitution specifically excludes impeachment from the President's pardon power.

SPECIAL EDITION Words of Power Interviews:

SPECIAL EDITION: Words of Power Interviews Nomi Prins, Author of "Jacked: How 'Conservatives' are Picking Your Pocket

SPECIAL EDITION: Generation Debt -- Why Now Is A Terrible Time To be Young, Words of Power Interviews Anya Kamenetz

SPECIAL EDITION: “The More Nefarious Form of Corruption is That Which is Legal” -- Words of Power Interviews David Sirota

SPECIAL EDITION: “Until this issue is burning on the mind of every citizen” -- Words of Power Interviews Mark Crispin Miller

Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net

Elizabeth de la Vega, Bush, Cheney, Iraq, Impeachment, US Constitution, Gore Vidal, Randi Rhodes, Nancy Pelosi

Hard Rain Journal 11-29-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Play the Economic Card, But Don't Forget the Psychological and Spiritual Impact

Image: World Health Organization (WHO)

Hard Rain Journal 11-29-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Play the Economic Card, But Don't Forget the Psychological and Spiritual Impacts

By Richard Power

Environmental security and energy security are interdependent challenges, and they are inextricably intertwined with political and economic security.

Global warming (a.k.a. "Climate Change") is the number one national security issue for every government and the number one security risk for every business. Unfortunately, too few organizations have come to grips with this truth or begun to grapple with its implications.

In the 21st Century, there can be no security without sustainability.

There are many profound aspects to this crisis.

The economic dimension of it is perhaps the most important of all, because its math is inescapable; global warming not only impacts the bottom line, it threatens to obliterate it.

"In [free market, economically] liberal circles, people freely express the idea that protection of the environment is an illusory objective if it runs counter to the economy. Perhaps that's true. One thing is certain; the statement may be reversed: the economy will not withstand a massive degradation of the environment." (Le Monde, 11-17-06)

Although the economic card is the one we need to play in dealing with business and government, the spiritual and psychological aspects of the crisis should not be overlooked.

What would be the psychological and spiritual impact of a world without birds?

"Unchecked climate change could force up to 72 percent of the world's bird species into extinction but the world still has a chance to limit the losses, conservation group WWF said in a report..."(Reuters, 11-14-06)

Are you spiritually and psychologically prepared for the deforestation of the planet?

"Deforestation remains the greatest current threat to the world's forests, claiming 10 to 15 million hectares of tree-covered areas every year, but climate change may represent a bigger challenge in the long term, scientists say..." (Inter Press Service, 11-20-06)

Here are brief excerpts from these and other important news and op-ed pieces, with links to the full texts:

So now macroeconomic equations include a new variable: the climate. Or rather, several new variables, given how numerous the variables subject to effects from global warming are....Economists' appropriation of the climate question is salutary. It alone will allow the broader mobilization beyond Kyoto of political officials for whom the increase in average earth temperatures of 2 or 3 degrees Centigrade is frequently a pure abstraction only....Two degrees higher average global temperature (a very optimistic scenario for the end of the century) means the complete disappearance of the Andean glaciers, for example. And, more generally, an even more intense withdrawal of all high elevation glaciers in the middle latitudes. With, as an immediate corollary, a significant drop in water availability in numerous regions. To maintain the structure of the occupation of those territories, heavy investments will be unavoidable. High-elevation water retention facilities, establishment of desalination factories and new water transportation networks, etc....Two more degrees means agricultural yields reduced by 20-30 percent along the Mediterranean basin and in Sahelian Africa. Hence, increased migratory pressure with its cortège of economic and political consequences. Two degrees more also means, according to the scientific literature cited by the Stern report, 15 to 40 percent of animal and vegetable species condemned to rapid extinction by virtue of the disappearance of their habitat. There again, the abstraction may leave you unmoved, even make you smile: could the global economy easily get by without biodiversity? No, answer the United Nations agencies and NGOs involved in environmental protection....In [free market, economically] liberal circles, people freely express the idea that protection of the environment is an illusory objective if it runs counter to the economy. Perhaps that's true. One thing is certain; the statement may be reversed: the economy will not withstand a massive degradation of the environment. Not concerned by Kyoto, the Chinese government - which one could not easily tax with ecological fanaticism - seems finally to have understood that. It has just allocated the colossal sum of 175 billion dollars to an environmental protection program that is supposed to last five years. Stéphane Foucart, Climate: A Matter for Economists, Le Monde, 11-17-06

Deforestation remains the greatest current threat to the world's forests, claiming 10 to 15 million hectares of tree-covered areas every year, but climate change may represent a bigger challenge in the long term, scientists say...Forests and other forms of life are now living on an "alien" planet where the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are higher than they have been for a million years...What does this mean for the 20 percent of the Earth's original forests that are still standing? Some scientists believe forests will grow faster in a warmer world. Others say they are more likely to burn, or suffer from disease or die from drought. Laurance and his colleagues have shown that the higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are changing the very nature of the existing forest in the Amazon. "Trees in the rainforest are growing faster and dying faster, and changing in species composition," he said, adding that the long-term implications of these changes are not known. Stephen Leahy, Will Forests Adapt to a Warmer World?, Inter Press Service, 11-20-06

Unchecked climate change could force up to 72 percent of the world's bird species into extinction but the world still has a chance to limit the losses, conservation group WWF said in a report on Tuesday.
From migratory insect-eaters to tropical honeycreepers and cold water penguins, birds are highly sensitive to changing weather conditions and many are already being affected badly by global warming, the new study said.
"Birds are the quintessential 'canaries in the coal mine' and are already responding to current levels of climate change," said the report, launched at a United Nations conference in Kenya on ways to slow warming.
"Birds now indicate that global warming has set in motion a powerful chain of effects in ecosystems worldwide," WWF said.
"Robust evidence demonstrates that climate change is affecting birds' behavior - with some migratory birds even failing to migrate at all. Global Warming Could Wipe Out Most Birds: WWF, Reuters, 11-14-06

Global warming could stoke ferocious wildfires that will be more difficult and costly to fight and might drastically alter the environment in parts of the world, some scientists warn. Approximately 1,000 scientists and forestry officials who gathered in San Diego for an international wildfire meeting that began Monday urged policymakers to consider the effects of global warming when managing wildfires. The wildfire season that just ended in the US was the most severe - and expensive - on record with more than 89,000 fires scorching 9.5 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The US Forest Service spent $1.5 billion fighting those fires - about $100 million over budget....
Battling wildfires has been complicated by thick forest undergrowth and the increasing encroachment of people near forest land....Scientists suggest, among other things, that regions most at risk be targeted for controlled burn programs. Scientists say an explosion of wildfires will increase fire costs and that old techniques may have little effect in controlling fires. Alicia Chang, Scientists: Climate Change Fueling Fires, Associated Press, 11-14-06

Want to participate in the effort to mitigate the impact of global warming? Download "Ten Things You Can Do"

There is a powerful magic in personal commitment.

RELATED POSTS:

Hard Rain Journal 11-26-06: Climate Crisis Update -- NSTA and State of Texas Exhibit Wanton Disregard for the Public Good
Hard Rain Journal 11-17-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Three Big Questions for Your Elected Representatives
Hard Rain Journal 11-16-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Annan and Stiglitz Urge Leaders to Face Risk
Hard Rain Journal 11-12-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Greatest Challenge is Overcoming Denial and Greed that Cloud Minds and Close Hearts
Hard Rain Journal 11-02-06: Climate Crisis Update -- What Bush, Cheney, Bork & Starr Don't Want the US Electorate to Know About Global Warming
Hard Rain Journal 10-27-06: Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update -- The Economic Cost of Continued Denial
Hard Rain Journal 10-25-06: Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update -- Are You Ready for Global Eco-System Collapse by 2050?
Hard Rain Journal 10-21-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Bad News from Armenia, Good News from Germany & Oregon, & More Proof for Those who Still Doubt
Hard Rain Journal 10-16-06: Climate Crisis Update - The Cost of NOT Coping with the Challenges of Global Warming
GS(3) Thunderbolt 10-11-06: Climate Crisis Update -- How Bad It Is, and What To Do About It
Hard Rain Journal 10-1-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Xangsane and The Elephant in the Dark
Hard Rain Journal 9-26-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Global Warming & The Nuclear Option, A Convergence of National Security Issues
Hard Rain Journal (9-24-06): Climate Crisis Update -- News on Farmers, Home Builders and Small Business Owners from Costa Rica and the UK
Hard Rain Journal 9-19-06: Climate Crisis Update – Gore Articulates The Profit in Prophecy and The Return on Reality
Hard Rain Journal 9-15-06: Climate Crisis Update – If You Have Children, or Care About the Future for Any Reason, You Should Read These Five News Items
Hard Rain Journal 8-28-06: Six Ways for the US to Fight Global Warming
Hard Rain Journal 8-17-06: Typhoon Season Intensifies, Canada Starts to Slide into Denial, New Study Offers Insight on Global Warming Impact
Hard Rain Journal 8-2-06: North Korean flood toll thought to be 10,000, Agence France Press reports
Hard Rain Journal 7-27-06: Killer Heat Waves, Massive Blackouts -- You Were Warned 3 Years Ago
Hard Rain Journal 7-26-06: NRDC Reports on Global Warming's Direct Threat to 12 National Parks in Western USA
Hard Rain Journal 7-24-06: Five Stories about the Reality of Global Warming, Is Continued Denial Criminally Insane?
Hard Rain Journal 7-21-06: Heat Waves in Europe & US are Direct Consequences of Global Warming
Words of Power #25: Lost Symbols, Part II -- The Rainbow Serpent Hisses, Lessons about Sustainability & Survival from Darfur, Senegal and Ecuador
Hard Rain Journal 6-27-06: Global Warming, Bush's Alleged "Incompetence," and the So-Called "Conservative" Agenda
Words of Power #20: Cusco, Kyoto and The Yellow Sand Storm
Words of Power #7: Global Warming Is A Security Threat To Your Family & Your Business
Words of Power #1: Truths Salvaged from Post-Katrina Debacle

Global Warming, Energy Security, Environmental Security, Alternate Energy, Sustainability, Green Power, Renewable Resources, Climate Change, Weather, Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, Extreme Weather, Crisis Management,Laurie David, WWF, TXU, Deforestation,Le Monde,Richard Power, Words of Power


GS(3) Thunderbolt 11-27-06: Update on Darfur -- UN Reports Crisis Worsens, HRW Urges AU to Get Tough with Khartoum

Photo: UNICEF Netherlands

GS(3) Thunderbolt 11-27-06: Update on Darfur -- UN Reports Crisis Worsens, HRW Urges AU to Get Tough with Khartoum

By Richard Power

There are several tempting stories to post on in the current news cycle, e.g., who killed former Russian secret agent Alexander V. Litvinenko with radioactive poison in a London sushi bar (he had been investigating the murder of Anna Politkovskaya) or who killed Pierre Gemayel in Lebanon (sixth in a series of deeply disturbing assasinations of anti-Syrian leaders). Well, I suggest that it may not be as simple as Putin in the case of Litvinenko and Politkovskaya or the Syrians in the case of Gemayel, Hariri and the others. In both instances, the truth may be even worse than what "conventional wisdom" suggests.

But I will not be distracted, as most of the world is....

The crisis in Darfur not only continues, it is deepening:

More people have fled their homes in Sudan's Darfur region than at any time since the conflict started nearly four years ago, said the United Nations on Monday in a report on the worsening humanitarian crisis.
"The number of IDPs [internally displaced people] has reached nearly two million, the highest level since the conflict started in 2003 and an increase of [about] 125 000 since the July 1 report," said a summary of the report....
"Another two million Darfurians directly affected by the ongoing crisis are in need of humanitarian aid, again the highest number ... since the beginning of the current crisis," the report added.... UN: Nearly two million displaced in Darfur, Sapa-AFP, 11-27-06

I am posting this GS(3) Thunderbolt to amplify Human Rights Watch's plea to the AU:

The African Union's Peace and Security Council should unanimously support a robust international protection force with the capacity to protect civilians in Darfur and along the Sudan-Chad border, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to council members before they gather on Wednesday in the Nigerian capital Abuja to discuss Darfur. "The African Union's slogan is 'Africa Must Unite,' and this is exactly what AU members need to do when they meet to discuss Darfur," said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director at Human Rights Watch....
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed the three-stage hybrid force at a November 16 meeting in Addis Ababa. The proposal apparently includes an additional 10,000 troops under UN command along with UN technical expertise to reinforce the struggling 7,000-member African Union force in Darfur....
"If Africans are serious about protecting Darfur's people, they must stop accepting Khartoum's denials and excuses," said Takirambudde. "The AU should also ensure that any international force in Darfur has the mandate and capacity to effectively protect civilians and is not just the lowest common denominator." African Union: Unite Behind Protection for Darfur, Human Rights Watch, 11-27-06

If you want to help save Darfur, here are some sites that offer suggestions on how to participate:

Save Darfur!
Genocide Intervention Network

DARFUF-RELATED POSTS:

GS(3) Thunderbolt 10-23-06: Update on the Crisis in Darfur

Hard Rain Journal 9-17-06: Global Day for Darfur

GS(3) Thunderbolt 9-14-06: Darfur Update -- Two Weeks from Rwanda II?

Hard Rain Journal 9-8-06: Sudanese Bomb Civilians & Mass Troops, But US Media Highlights Release of Salopek

GS3 Thunderbolt 8-30-06: Urgent Action is Needed on Darfur, US's Security Council Proposal is a "Sham"

Hard Rain Journal 8-24-06: Updates on Darfur & Katrina, Failures of the Human Spirit

Hard Rain Journal 8-3-06: Darfur is A Mirror Held Up to the Souls of the Great Nations, & What It Reveals is Hideous

Words of Power #25: Lost Symbols, Part II -- The Rainbow Serpent Hisses, Lessons about Sustainability & Survival from Darfur, Senegal and Ecuador

Words of Power #12: The Fallen Tree (Spiritual Challenges of the 21st Century Global Security Crisis, Part II)

Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net


Alexander V. Litvinenko, Pierre Gemayal, Russia, Lebanon,
Darfur, Sudan, Chad, Jan Pronk, Africa, African Union,Genocide, Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, United Nations, Richard Power, Words of Power

Hard Rain Journal 11-26-06: Climate Crisis Update -- NSTA and State of Texas Exhibit Wanton Disregard for the Public Good

Image: Woods Hole Research Center

In the past year alone, according to its Web site, Exxon Mobil's foundation gave $42 million to key organizations that influence the way children learn about science, from kindergarten until they graduate from high school. Laurie David, Washington Post, 11-26-06

The world can't get its act together without the United States, and the US can't do it without Texas. The world may have ten years, but Texas only has six months to stop TXU from turning our climate to toast. Kelpie Wilson, Truthout, 11-22-06

Hard Rain Journal 11-26-06: Climate Crisis Update -- NSTA and State of Texas Exhibit Wanton Disregard for the Public Good

By Richard Power

Two stories from recent days highlight the profoundly disturbing disconnect from reality on the part of the US political establishment, the US mainstream news media and even the US educational system.

In a Washington Post op-ed piece, Laurie David, producer of "An Inconvenient Truth," Natural Resources Defense Council trustee and founder of StopGlobalWarming.org, exposes the cravenness of the National Science Teachers Association (NTSA). David offered 50,000 free Inconvenient Truth DVDs to the NTSA, but the offer was rejected.

Why?

"In their e-mail rejection, they expressed concern that other "special interests" might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn't want to offer "political" endorsement of the film; and they saw "little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members" in accepting the free DVDs. Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp....NSTA's list of corporate donors also includes Shell Oil and the American Petroleum Institute (API), which funds NSTA's Web site on the science of energy. There, students can find a section called "Running on Oil" and read a page that touts the industry's environmental track record -- citing improvements mostly attributable to laws that the companies fought tooth and nail, by the way -- but makes only vague references to spills or pollution. NSTA has distributed a video produced by API called "You Can't Be Cool Without Fuel," a shameless pitch for oil dependence. Laurie David, Science a la Joe Camel, 11-26-06

The NTSA story is about an organization that presents itself as a teachers association, willing to accept corporatist influence warfare materials accompanied by big donations from the energy industry, but unwilling to accept public service materials offered for free and grounded in irrefutable science.

It is scandalous, but it is, of course, an information-based scandal.

The other outrage I want to draw your attention to is, well, murderous (to the citizens of Texas and to the environment of the planet as a whole) in its implications.

And Kelpie Wilson, Truthout environmental editor, writes about the state of Texas and its giant power company, TXU. Although Texas is "already the number one CO2 polluter in the United States, which is the number one CO2 polluter in the world," TXU is rushing to build "eleven new giant coal power plants."

Wilson writes: "Coal is cheap. Cheaper than natural gas and a whole lot dirtier. With Governor Perry's order in hand, TXU applied for permits for eleven new giant coal power plants. Several other power companies and utilities put projects in the pipeline too, but TXU's plants are way ahead in the process. That might have something to do with its generous campaign contributions to the Governor. The Dallas Morning News reported in October 2006 that since Perry signed the executive order, TXU and its associates had contributed $87,000. Coal may be cheap to TXU, but it's not cheap for people or the planet. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, TXU's eleven proposed plants, totaling more than 9,000 megawatts, will produce about 78 million tons of CO2 per year. EDF says that's equivalent to the annual emissions of 10 million Cadillacs and more than the annual emissions of the entire country of Denmark." Kelpie Wilson, Power Companies Order Up Texas Toast, Truthout, 11-22-06

Want to participate in the effort to mitigate the impact of global warming? Download "Ten Things You Can Do"

There is a powerful magic in personal commitment.

RELATED POSTS:

Hard Rain Journal 11-17-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Three Big Questions for Your Elected Representatives
Hard Rain Journal 11-16-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Annan and Stiglitz Urge Leaders to Face Risk
Hard Rain Journal 11-12-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Greatest Challenge is Overcoming Denial and Greed that Cloud Minds and Close Hearts
Hard Rain Journal 11-02-06: Climate Crisis Update -- What Bush, Cheney, Bork & Starr Don't Want the US Electorate to Know About Global Warming
Hard Rain Journal 10-27-06: Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update -- The Economic Cost of Continued Denial
Hard Rain Journal 10-25-06: Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update -- Are You Ready for Global Eco-System Collapse by 2050?
Hard Rain Journal 10-21-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Bad News from Armenia, Good News from Germany & Oregon, & More Proof for Those who Still Doubt
Hard Rain Journal 10-16-06: Climate Crisis Update - The Cost of NOT Coping with the Challenges of Global Warming
GS(3) Thunderbolt 10-11-06: Climate Crisis Update -- How Bad It Is, and What To Do About It
Hard Rain Journal 10-1-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Xangsane and The Elephant in the Dark
Hard Rain Journal 9-26-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Global Warming & The Nuclear Option, A Convergence of National Security Issues
Hard Rain Journal (9-24-06): Climate Crisis Update -- News on Farmers, Home Builders and Small Business Owners from Costa Rica and the UK
Hard Rain Journal 9-19-06: Climate Crisis Update – Gore Articulates The Profit in Prophecy and The Return on Reality
Hard Rain Journal 9-15-06: Climate Crisis Update – If You Have Children, or Care About the Future for Any Reason, You Should Read These Five News Items
Hard Rain Journal 8-28-06: Six Ways for the US to Fight Global Warming
Hard Rain Journal 8-17-06: Typhoon Season Intensifies, Canada Starts to Slide into Denial, New Study Offers Insight on Global Warming Impact
Hard Rain Journal 8-2-06: North Korean flood toll thought to be 10,000, Agence France Press reports
Hard Rain Journal 7-27-06: Killer Heat Waves, Massive Blackouts -- You Were Warned 3 Years Ago
Hard Rain Journal 7-26-06: NRDC Reports on Global Warming's Direct Threat to 12 National Parks in Western USA
Hard Rain Journal 7-24-06: Five Stories about the Reality of Global Warming, Is Continued Denial Criminally Insane?
Hard Rain Journal 7-21-06: Heat Waves in Europe & US are Direct Consequences of Global Warming
Words of Power #25: Lost Symbols, Part II -- The Rainbow Serpent Hisses, Lessons about Sustainability & Survival from Darfur, Senegal and Ecuador
Hard Rain Journal 6-27-06: Global Warming, Bush's Alleged "Incompetence," and the So-Called "Conservative" Agenda
Words of Power #20: Cusco, Kyoto and The Yellow Sand Storm
Words of Power #7: Global Warming Is A Security Threat To Your Family & Your Business
Words of Power #1: Truths Salvaged from Post-Katrina Debacle

Global Warming, Energy Security, Environmental Security, Alternate Energy, Sustainability, Green Power, Renewable Resources, Climate Change, Weather, Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, Extreme Weather, Crisis Management,Laurie David, Kelpie Wilson, TXU, Texas,National Science Teachers Association,Richard Power, Words of Power


GS(3) Intel Briefing 11-24-06: Updates on Open Society, Geopolitics, Energy Security, Human Rights, Alternative News Media and More!

Photo: Apollo 17, 12/72, NASA

GS(3) Intelligence Briefing 11-24-06: Updates on Open Society, Geopolitics, Energy Security, Human Rights, Alternative News Media and More!
Edited By Richard Power

Life on this planet is a Oneness. And although this Oneness is rich in bio-diversity and a myriad of human cultures, the truth of it is increasingly difficult to escape.

Looking out for the 21st Century health and evolution of this Oneness demands a bold, holistic approach to security and risk.

GS(3) Intelligence explores the interdependence of security, sustainability and spirit.

This briefing provide insights on important global issues and trends, including geopolitics, governance, energy security, human rights, freedom of the press, corruption and cyber crime.

It consists of highlights from a collection of nine news stories and op-ed pieces from nine diverse and international sources: EU Observer, Telegraph, Eurasianet, Reuters Alternet, Inter Press Service, Reporters Without Borders, IDG News Services and Dong-A Ilbo.

The items are organized by region, excerpted with links to the full text, and introduced with analytic overviews.

Customized analysis is provided for clients.

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

The USA’s tragic downward spiral into fascism may or may not have been thwarted by the recent significant but vulnerable victory in the mid-term elections. But either way, the role of the EU experiment, which was already central to a future of planetary peace and prosperity, is of do-or-die importance.

US billionaire financier and liberal political activist George Soros has said the EU should "shelve" its planned constitution and instead take concrete steps to effectively promote a "global open society"...Soros hailed the EU as an "inspiring" example of what he calls an "open society," with none of the member states dominating and with human rights prevailing. "To my mind the EU embodies the principles of an open society," Soros said also referring to the "step by step" building process of the union since the 1950s, with Europe's founding fathers gradually exploring new forms of co-operation while being aware of their "imperfections".…But while praising the EU's record on democracy and liberalism, Soros also called upon the EU to shelve its proposed constitution, which was rejected in France and the Netherlands in referendums last year. Mark Beunderman, Boost global role and forget constitution, Soros urges EU, EU Observer, 11-21-06

The president of Slovenia has given up his palace for a mountain hut and habitually decks himself in leaves to celebrate nature. Adopting a New Age existence after being diagnosed with cancer, Janez Drnovsek, 56, has moved from the presidential palace in Ljubljana to the village of Zaplana, where he lives alone with his dog on a vegan diet of organic fruit and vegetables, while he bakes his own bread. He has even been known to "greet the trees" by dressing up in cloaks of leaves. Mr Drnovsek appealed this week to his fellow countrymen to join him in embracing the simple life in the hope of averting a world catastrophe. In a new self-help guide, The Essence of the World, a follow up to his best-selling The Thoughts of Life and Awareness, the politician describes the spiritual transformation he has undergone since renouncing the trappings of presidential life.
Kate Connolly, New Age president lives alone in a hut, Telegraph, 11/17-06

ASIA PACIFIC

Straddling the intersection of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Turkey is one of the lynchpins of global security and order. The impetus for Turkey’s entry into the EU has largely dissipated (both in the EU and in Turkey). The unresolved issue of Cyprus threatens to become a flashpoint for renewed conflict, not only between Turkey and Greece, but -- if circumstances continue to deteriorate -- between Islam the Western world. The Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq has aroused justifiable animosity and suspicion. Are both democratic progress and secularism in danger in Turkey?
On a positive note, Eurasianet reports that Turkey is looking East and talking Commonwealth with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The results of the November 17 summit of the leaders of Turkic-speaking nations exceeded the expectations of many diplomats and political analysts. The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey took the first steps toward the creation of a Turkic commonwealth, giving an enthusiastic endorsement to efforts aimed at strengthening energy and security ties....The participants signed a declaration committing the Turkic states to strengthen economic and transport ties, while stressing “the importance of the joint fight against terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, drug smuggling, weapons smuggling, human smuggling and other organize crimes.” The statement also endorsed the concepts of Turkey’s accession to the European Union, and a peace settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that leaves the territory under Azerbaijan’s control....The four leaders underlined both the “increasing importance of the Caspian Basin for the energy security of Europe” and the “strategic importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [BTC] oil pipeline opening and the [expected] completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum [BTE] natural gas pipeline.” They also stressed the importance of the possible addition of trans-Caspian transportation routes to both the BTC and the BTE... Mevlut Katik, SPIRIT OF COOPERATION DOMINATES TURKIC SUMMIT, Eurasianet, 11-20-06

Meanwhile, in another troubled region farther east, Burma’s gangster regime is being underwritten by the great nations’ thirst for energy resources”

"Why is there severe malnutrition in this Garden of Eden?" asks Medecins Sans Frontieres physician Frank Smithuis of Myanmar, a country with worsening poverty, a collapsed education system and rampant AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria rates, according to the New York Times.
The country is ruled by an oppressive military junta, but Myanmar's neighbours aren't rushing to condemn it. According to the newspaper, the reason for this lies in the country's reserves of a precious natural resource: gas. China and India are already signing deals with the Myanmar regime (and we're talking billions here) to build new ports and pipelines. Meanwhile, citizens use paraffin and wood for their lighting and heating once they've used up the two hours of electricity a day they get from the government....Thailand hands over $1.2 billion a year to Myanmar's government for natural gas. The list goes on.
This kind of trade might be easier to defend if the revenues benefited Myanmar's people….The New York Times also reports that health workers are coming across children in urban areas with severe malnutrition for the first time. Meanwhile, the wedding of junta leader Than Shwe's daughter cost estimated $50 million, according to Australia's Age. Nina Brenjo, China's love affair with Myanmar, Reuters Alternet, 11-20-06

AMERICAS

The medium is still the message. Radio and TV are influence warfare – whether the goal is to enlighten, engage and empower people or to distract, mislead and mollify them. Here are two stories about how Latin America’s emerging alternative news media is both contributing to internal political debate within countries and impacting regional geopolitics.

When the project emerged three years ago, it involved communication between indigenous communities within one Argentine province, but it rapidly grew into a larger network that broadcasts their voice from more than a hundred community and commercial radio stations in the north of the country.
"At first it was a project just for ourselves, but we soon realised that we had to expand our audience to be able to exert influence and have our problems addressed by the political agenda," Germán Díaz, a member of the Toba indigenous community who is head of production and co-host of one of the programmes, told IPS….The indigenous organisations involved have expanded from two to nearly 60, and where there was a single non-indigenous group providing support, there are now 70, many of them linked to churches and community media. The large commercial radio stations, their vehicle, offer them free air time.... Marcela Valente, Indigenous People On the Air, Inter Press Service, 11-21-06

Reporters Without Borders has protested against the arrest and questioning in Bogota of Freddy Muñoz, correspondent in Colombia for the international Latin-American channel Telesur, for “rebellion and terrorism”. The organisation called for his release.
Muñoz, 36, was seized on 19 November 2006 by Colombian intelligence agents from the Administrative Department for Security (DAS) after he landed in Bogota on his return from the Venezuelan capital Caracas where he had attended a training workshop. He had left a week earlier with no trouble....
“The arrest of Freddy Muñoz is a simple case of misuse of power,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “If it turns out that it was indeed linked to be the broadcast a year ago on Telesur of interviews with the guerrillas, then the Colombian government has made itself guilty of a press freedom violation. How can a journalist interviewing an alleged terrorist become a terrorist in his turn? If this is the argument, it is absurd and dangerous. Freddy Muñoz must be released,” Reporters Without Borders said.
Teleshttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifur correspondent wrongly detained for "rebellion and terrorism," Reporters Without Borders, 11-21-06

GLOBAL

As sweeping, ongoing investigations of the US Congress and the White House illustrate, corruption is one of the paramount issues in the health of democracies everywhere.

“Corruption traps millions in poverty,” said Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle. “Despite a decade of progress in establishing anti-corruption laws and regulations, today’s results indicate that much remains to be done before we see meaningful improvements in the lives of the world’s poorest citizens.”
The 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index is a composite index that draws on multiple expert opinion surveys that poll perceptions of public sector corruption in 163 countries around the world, the greatest scope of any CPI to date. It scores countries on a scale from zero to ten, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and ten indicating low levels of perceived corruption.
A strong correlation between corruption and poverty is evident in the results of the CPI 2006. Almost three-quarters of the countries in the CPI score below five (including all low-income countries and all but two African states) indicating that most countries in the world face serious perceived levels of domestic corruption. Seventy-one countries - nearly half - score below three, indicating that corruption is perceived as rampanthttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif. Haiti has the lowest score at 1.8; Guinea, Iraq and Myanmar share the penultimate slot, each with a score of 1.9. Finland, Iceland and New Zealand share the top score of 9.6. 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International, 11-6-06

CYBERSPACE

Here are two stories from that virtual territory where the shadow side of the human psyche intersects the shadow side of cyberspace.

Adrian Ringland, 36, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, admitted to sending Trojan horse applications through Microsoft Corp.'s instant messaging program to the girls, which then allowed him to control their computers, according to a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokeswoman. The girls, who Ringland met through chat rooms, were between 13 and 16 years old.
He demonstrated his control of the girls' computers by remotely opening and closing the disc drive or turning off the monitor, while pressuring his victims to send naked photos of themselves.
Having obtained the photos, he then threatened to disclose them to the girls' friends and family using contact information he had stolen from the machines, unless they sent further photos. Jeremy Kirk, Hacker who targeted teens sentenced to prison, Trojan-transmitting blackmailer will serve 10 years, IDG News Services, 11-10-06

Employers of phone sex companies have been arrested on charges of taking the personal information of 8,420,000 customers from rival companies and sending about 100 million lascivious text messages to them.
The Cyber Terror Response Center of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency arrested phone sex company officials, including Nam (38, female), and a hacker, Lee (33), and indicted four others without detention. They are charged with taking the personal information of customers (a violation of the Information and Communications Law) such as security numbers and cell phone numbers from other phone sex companies by hiring a professional hacker.
According to police, Nam and Kang (33), president of another firm, let Lee, who is a professional programmer, break into servers for clients of their 67 competitors and steal 8.42 million personal information items.
The suspects used Daepo phones established in other names, such as those of homeless people whose resident registrations have expired and credit delinquents, and duplicated cell phones in order to send text messages. As a result, they have yet to pay the fees for sending the text messages, which come out to 30 won for one message and approximately three billion won for the 100 million messages in total. Police Break Phone Sex Hacking Ring, The Dong-A Ilbo, 11-10-06

Most Recent GS(3) Intelligence Briefings:

GS(3) Intel Brief 10-13-06: Updates on Energy Security, Environmental Security, Gangster States, Geopolitics, Human Rights and Corporate Espionage

GS(3) Intel Brief 9-5-06: Resource-Rich Norway as Ethical Model, Over-Population in Uganda, Chinese Eco-Cities, Australian Water Woes, & More!

GS(3) Intel Brief 8-20-06: Climate Change, the Great Game, Cyber War & Corruption from China, Bosnia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Iberia, US & Pipelinistan

GS(3) Intelligence Briefing 8-6-06: Polish Econ Hit By Climate Change, Niger Plants Trees, France Prosecutes Le Pen, Cybercrime in Australia, & More!

Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net

George Soros, Janez Drnovsek , Freddy Munoz, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Reporters Without Borders, EU, Burma, Myanmar, China, India, Central Asia, Environmental Security, Turkey, Cybercrime, Geopolitics, Open Society, Energy Security, Telesur, Corruption, Venezuela, Columbia, Argentina, Transparency International, Turkic Commonwealth

Hard Rain Journal 11-21-06: Election Security Update -- Mexico Takes a Turn Down a Dark Street, and the USA Receives ONLY a Temporary Reprieve

Image: Diego Rivera, Nude with Calla Lillies


Hard Rain Journal 11-21-06: Election Security Update -- Mexico Takes a Turn Down a Dark Street, and the USA Receives ONLY a Temporary Reprieve

By Richard Power

The people of Mexico, those hard working men and women on whose shoulders the great nation of Carlos Feuntes, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Emilio Zapata moves ever forward, took a brave turn into the unknown yesterday: "Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched a parallel government Monday and swore himself in as Mexico's 'legitimate' president..." (AP, 11-21-06).

As we have noted before, the Mexican presidential election was hotly contested and narrowly "decided." The country is deeply and disturbingly divided between the haves and the have-nots. If Calderon were a leader worthy of a noble place in his nation's history, he would have demanded a full recount himself. But, of course, like his allies in the US political establishment and mainstream news media, he is not really interested in deep democracy, he is only interested in holding on to power for a circle of narrow and exclusive interests. And just like Bush in 2000, Calderon could not afford a full recount, because in all probability, just like Bush in 2000, he would have lost it.

And what about election security issue in the USA in the aftermath of the Democratic take-over of the House and Senate?

There is a lot that has not yet been revealed about both 2006 and 2004. It will break into the news sooner than later.

Words of Power will post significant developments, to follow these unfolding stories more closely I urge you to access Mark Crispin Miller's Notes From The Underground and Brad Friedman's Brad Blog.

Meanwhile, consider this, if you had invested a significant amount of capital (both financial and political) in rigging a system to fix US elections, would you risk exposing it in order to blunt an overwhelming uprising of voter disgust in a mid-term? (A mid-term is more difficult to fix than a presidential contest even under optimum conditions, and this one was crawling with citizen activists, alternative media journalists, high-powered lawyers and even government investigators.) Or would you hold back on flipping the switch in the hope that it would all be come a non-issue and you could keep the rigged system in place for the next battle for the White House?

Do not be lulled into false sense of election security. Gore won Florida in 2000. Kerry won Ohio in 2004. Selected US Senate races were stolen in 2002. And much mischief was intended (and thwarted) in 2006. This struggle is not over, not in Mexico, and not in the USA.

Here are the first and last few lines of López Obrador's historic speech, I urge to follow the link to the full text:

López Obrador rinde protesta como presidente Legítimo de México

Mensaje de Andrés Manuel López Obrador en el acto de toma de protesta como presidente Legítimo de México, en el Zócalo de la Ciudad de México

México, Distrito Federal

Amigas y amigos:

Les agradezco su presencia y su respaldo. Al ver de nuevo este Zócalo repleto y lleno de entusiasmo, reafirmo lo que siempre he pensado: con gente como ustedes nada es imposible. Aquí está la muestra de lo que somos y de lo que seremos capaces de llevar a cabo.

Hemos resistido ante el embate permanente de nuestros adversarios que han intentado, una y otra vez, destruirnos políticamente. De poco les ha servido someter y envilecer a casi todos los medios de comunicación para atacarnos con saña y vulgaridad.

Y sin embargo, aquí están ustedes, y muchos otros que no pudieron acompañarnos, que no se rinden ante la adversidad y están decididos a seguir luchando por nuestro ideal de convertir a México en una patria justa, libertaria y progresista.

Por eso les expreso toda mi admiración y respeto. Es un honor ser Presidente Legítimo de México y, sobre todo, es un honor ser dirigente de hombres y mujeres libres como ustedes.

También celebro de que nos reunamos en esta fecha tan importante y significativa, hoy 20 de noviembre, cuando conmemoramos el aniversario de la Revolución Mexicana, que liberó a nuestro pueblo de la dictadura porfirista y conquistó derechos sociales para todos.

Con este acto fortalecemos la defensa de la voluntad popular y, al mismo tiempo, rendimos homenaje a quienes, a lo largo de la historia han luchado por la libertad, la democracia, la justicia y la soberanía nacional....

Amigas y amigos:

La solemne protesta que acaba de ligar nuestro destino político al de nuestro pueblo, implica defender una Patria para todos, por encima de cualquier interés personal o de grupo.

En esta tarea histórica empeño mi honor y mi conciencia. Y sé que cada uno de ustedes hará lo mismo.

Frente a la mafia que nos robó la elección presidencial y hace negocios privados a la sombra del poder publico, frente a los intereses mezquinos, proclamamos con orgullo que nuestra autoridad moral deriva de nuestros principios y de la ética política que profesamos.

Aspiramos a vivir en una sociedad mejor, donde el dinero no triunfe sobre la moral y la dignidad del pueblo, donde el ser humano valga por su trabajo, su rectitud y su generosidad, sin importar el color de la piel ni la condición económica o social.

Regresen a sus barrios, colonias, comunidades y pueblos, enterados una vez más que estamos haciendo lo correcto, que las cosas van a cambiar porque trabajamos juntos porque así sea. No le demos sitio al desánimo. La esperanza es la acción colectiva dedicada a crear lo que hace falta, lo pendiente; es la capacidad que tenemos de hacer realidad el cambio profundo, verdadero. No esperemos nada de los de arriba, cumplamos con nuestro deber ciudadano.

Las posibilidades del cambio están en nuestras manos, en nuestros hechos, en nuestros compromisos. Somos mujeres y hombres libres, el destino de nuestras vidas depende de nosotros, también el futuro de nuestra patria. Manos a la obra, seamos todos el gobierno que nuestro país necesita.

¡Viva el Gobierno del pueblo!

¡Viva la Revolución Mexicana!

¡Viva México!

López Obrador rinde protesta como presidente Legítimo de México

RELATED POSTS:

Hard Rain Journal (9-22-06): Election Security Update -- In MX, Lopez Obrador Will Be Sworn In First; In US, RFK, Jr. Asks Will 2006 Be Hacked

Hard Rain Journal 8-23-06: Struggle for Sanctity & integrity of Electoral Process Rages on in Both US & Mexico

Hard Rain Journal 8-9-06: Lamont & McKinney Stories Underscore the Importance of Lopez Obrador's Struggle

Hard Rain Journal 7-30-06: Struggle for Fair Elections, North & South of the Rio Grande

Hard Rain Journal 7-22-06 Weekend Edition: Updates on US Election Fraud and the Dan Rather Watch

Hard Rain Journal 7-18-06: Update on Disputed Mexican Presidential Election

GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-10-06: Will the Disputed Mexican Election Lead to Insurrection? Lessons for Mexico from the US, and Lessons for the US from Mexico

GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-7-06: Mexican Presidential Election Still in Doubt

GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-3-06: Greg Palast on the Case in the Mexican Presidential Election

Hard Rain Journal 6-28-06: NYU Law School's Brennan Center Reports E-Voting Software Attacks are a Real Danger

SPECIAL EDITION: “Until this issue is burning on the mind of every citizen” -- Words of Power Interviews Mark Crispin Miller

Words of Power #22: Election Fraud As Information Warfare, and a National Security Issue

Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net

Information Warfare, Cyber Security, Voting, Elections, Election, Vote, Vote Fraud, fraud, cybercrime, cyber crime, Mexico, López Obrador,Mark Crispin Miller,Brad Friedman

Hard Rain Journal 11-20-06: The USA Needs A Scapegoat, I Suggest the Bush-Cheney National Insecurity Team

Hard Rain Journal 11-20-06: The USA Needs A Scapegoat, I Suggest the Bush-Cheney National Insecurity Team

The USA needs to accept the fact of another failed regime -- this one at home. The USA needs somewhere to affix the blame. The USA needs to point the finger, not outwardly, but inwardly. The USA needs a scapegoat, and I suggest the Bush-Cheney national insecurity team.

The US political establishment needs to distance itself quickly from a series of national security debacles, including the Mega-Mogadishu in Iraq, the failure to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden, the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the arrogant disregard of the Geneva Accords and the disasterous policy of Malign Neglect in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The only way to do this is to unleash congressional investigations and either bring down Bush-Cheney constitutionally via impeachment or politically via resignations. The evidence already exists in open source. Certainly, the leadership has access to even more.

I do not know if Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will blink (well, I doubt she would). But they cannot afford to let the Bush-Cheney regime off the mat politically or criminally. They must finish this...

The most likely scenario is to force the resignation of Cheney and Rove through the pursuit of various investigations, which would force the completion of Poppy's makeover of this administration (i.e., Robert Gates, the Iraq Working Group, etc.) and leave George W. Bush under what would amount to an unspoken White House arrest (and little more than a legend in his own mind) for the last two years of his second (and final) term.

The priorities have to be to 1) thwart war with Iran, 2) get the new Congress sworn in (and strengthen the security of its physical and cyber perimeters) and 3) remove Cheney from office -- although not necessarily in that order.

Here are two excerpts from Sy Hersh latest expose in The New Yorker via Truthout:

Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more?
A month before the November elections, Vice-President Dick Cheney was sitting in on a national-security discussion at the Executive Office Building. The talk took a political turn: what if the Democrats won both the Senate and the House? How would that affect policy toward Iran, which is believed to be on the verge of becoming a nuclear power? At that point, according to someone familiar with the discussion, Cheney began reminiscing about his job as a lineman, in the early nineteen-sixties, for a power company in Wyoming. Copper wire was expensive, and the linemen were instructed to return all unused pieces three feet or longer. No one wanted to deal with the paperwork that resulted, Cheney said, so he and his colleagues found a solution: putting "shorteners" on the wire - that is, cutting it into short pieces and tossing the leftovers at the end of the workday. If the Democrats won on November 7th, the Vice-President said, that victory would not stop the Administration from pursuing a military option with Iran. The White House would put "shorteners" on any legislative restrictions, Cheney said, and thus stop Congress from getting in its way....

The Administration's planning for a military attack on Iran was made far more complicated earlier this fall by a highly classified draft assessment by the C.I.A. challenging the White House's assumptions about how close Iran might be to building a nuclear bomb. The C.I.A. found no conclusive evidence, as yet, of a secret Iranian nuclear-weapons program running parallel to the civilian operations that Iran has declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency. (The C.I.A. declined to comment on this story.)
The C.I.A.'s analysis, which has been circulated to other agencies for comment, was based on technical intelligence collected by overhead satellites, and on other empirical evidence, such as measurements of the radioactivity of water samples and smoke plumes from factories and power plants. Additional data have been gathered, intelligence sources told me, by high-tech (and highly classified) radioactivity-detection devices that clandestine American and Israeli agents placed near suspected nuclear-weapons facilities inside Iran in the past year or so. No significant amounts of radioactivity were found.
A current senior intelligence official confirmed the existence of the C.I.A. analysis, and told me that the White House had been hostile to it. The White House's dismissal of the C.I.A. findings on Iran is widely known in the intelligence community. Cheney and his aides discounted the assessment, the former senior intelligence official said. "They're not looking for a smoking gun," the official added, referring to specific intelligence about Iranian nuclear planning. "They're looking for the degree of comfort level they think they need to accomplish the mission." The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency also challenged the C.I.A.'s analysis. "The D.I.A. is fighting the agency's conclusions, and disputing its approach," the former senior intelligence official said. Bush and Cheney, he added, can try to prevent the C.I.A. assessment from being incorporated into a forthcoming National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian nuclear capabilities, "but they can't stop the agency from putting it out for comment inside the intelligence community." The C.I.A. assessment warned the White House that it would be a mistake to conclude that the failure to find a secret nuclear-weapons program in Iran merely meant that the Iranians had done a good job of hiding it. The former senior intelligence official noted that at the height of the Cold War the Soviets were equally skilled at deception and misdirection, yet the American intelligence community was readily able to unravel the details of their long-range-missile and nuclear-weapons programs. But some in the White House, including in Cheney's office, had made just such an assumption - that "the lack of evidence means they must have it," the former official said....

Seymour M. Hersh, The Next Act, The New Yorker, 11-20-06

SOME RELATED POSTS:

Hard Rain Journal 11-19-06: Courage and Clarity of Mind on Iraq and Iran -- Odom says, "We must cut and run tactically in order to succeed strategically."

Hard Rain Journal 8-31-06: Who Will You Believe About the Coming Confrontation with Iran?

Words of Power #27: Have Far from the Mooring of Reality has this Ship of Fools Drifted? The Regime & Its Enablers Look Past Iraq & Katrina to Iran

Hard Rain Journal 7-2-06: Sy Hersh Delivers More Insight on US Generals' Resistance to Bush-Cheney Eagerness for War with Iran

Words of Power #16: Lt. Gen. Newbold Bears Witness, Sy Hersh Sounds the Alarm & Patrick Fitzgerald Raises the Stakes

Words of Power #8: Odom and Wilkerson Bear Witness


Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Bush, Seymour Hersh, Cheney, Israel, Palestine, Al-Qaeda, CIA, The New Yorker

Hard Rain Journal 11-19-06: Courage and Clarity of Mind on Iraq and Iran -- "We must cut and run tactically in order to succeed strategically."

Hard Rain Journal 11-19-06: Courage and Clarity of Mind on Iraq and Iran -- Odom says, "We must cut and run tactically in order to succeed strategically."

By Richard Power

Here is more courage and clarity of mind on the Mega-Mogadishu in Iraq and the folly of the Bush-Cheney "policy" toward Iran -- from Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army (Retired), who once served as Ronald Reagan's NSA Director (and who we have cited, with great admiration, in several postings, e.g., Words of Power #8: Odom and Wilkerson Bear Witness over the last year and a half):

The United States upset the regional balance in the Mideast when it invaded Iraq. Restoring it requires bold initiatives, but "cutting and running" must precede them all. Only a withdrawal of all U.S. troops - within six months and with no preconditions - can break the paralysis that enfeebles our diplomacy. And the greatest obstacles to cutting and running are the psychological inhibitions of our leaders and the public.
Our leaders do not act because their reputations are at stake. The public does not force them to act because it is blinded by the president's conjured set of illusions: that we are reducing terrorism by fighting in Iraq, creating democracy there, preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, making Israel more secure, not allowing our fallen soldiers to have died in vain, and others.
But reality no longer can be avoided. It is beyond U.S. power to prevent sectarian violence in Iraq, the growing influence of Iran throughout the region, the probable spread of Sunni-Shiite strife to neighboring Arab states, the eventual rise to power of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr or some other anti-American leader in Baghdad, and the spread of instability beyond Iraq....
Some lawmakers are ready to change course but are puzzled as to how to leave Iraq. The answer is four major initiatives to provide regional stability and calm in Iraq. They will leave the U.S. less influential in the region. But it will be the best deal we can get.
• First, the U.S. must concede that it has botched things, cannot stabilize the region alone and must let others have a say in what's next. As U.S. forces begin to withdraw, Washington must invite its European allies, as well as Japan, China and India, to make their own proposals for dealing with the aftermath. Russia can be ignored because it will play a spoiler role in any case....
• The second initiative is to create a diplomatic forum for Iraq's neighbors. Iran, of course, must be included. Washington should offer to convene the forum but be prepared to step aside if other members insist.
• Third, the U.S. must informally cooperate with Iran in areas of shared interests. Nothing else could so improve our position in the Middle East. The price for success will include dropping U.S. resistance to Iran's nuclear weapons program. This will be as distasteful for U.S. leaders as cutting and running, but it is no less essential. That's because we do share vital common interests with Iran. We both want to defeat al-Qaida and the Taliban (Iran hates both). We both want stability in Iraq (Iran will have influence over the Shiite Iraqi south regardless of what we do, but neither Washington nor Tehran wants chaos). And we can help each other when it comes to oil: Iran needs our technology to produce more oil, and we simply need more oil.
• Fourth, real progress must be made on the Palestinian issue as a foundation for Mideast peace. The invasion of Iraq and the U.S. tilt toward Israel have dangerously reduced Washington's power to broker peace or to guarantee Israel's security. We now need Europe's help. And good relations with Iran would help dramatically. No strategy can succeed without these components. We must cut and run tactically in order to succeed strategically. The U.S. needs to restore its reputation so that its capacity to lead constructively will cost us less. William E. Odom, 'Cut and Run' Must be First Step in Iraq, Madison Capital Times, 11-19-06

SOME RELATED POSTS:

Hard Rain Journal 8-31-06: Who Will You Believe About the Coming Confrontation with Iran?

Words of Power #27: Have Far from the Mooring of Reality has this Ship of Fools Drifted? The Regime & Its Enablers Look Past Iraq & Katrina to Iran

Words of Power #16: Lt. Gen. Newbold Bears Witness, Sy Hersh Sounds the Alarm & Patrick Fitzgerald Raises the Stakes

Words of Power #8: Odom and Wilkerson Bear Witness

Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Bush, William Odom, Cheney, Israel, Palestine, Al-Qaeda, Shia, Sunni

Hard Rain Journal 11-17-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Three Big Questions for Your Elected Representatives

Source: WHO

Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing the most to protect against climate change, but their efforts are not nearly enough, according to a report released Monday by environmental groups. The United States -- the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases -- ranked at 53, with only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia doing worse. AP, 11-14-06

Hard Rain Journal 11-17-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Three Big Questions for Your Elected Representatives

By Richard Power

In an index that ranks the 56 countries (they make up 90 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions) that were part of a 1992 climate treaty or that contribute at least 1 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, the USA ranks 53rd. Only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia ranked lower. (AP, 11-14-06)

The Bush-Cheney regime and its enablers in the US mainstream news media and the US Congress have attempted to distort the facts, hide the truth and distract the US electorate. Will it be significantly and substantively different in January when Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) takes over as chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee?

The EU is exploring the option of imposing a “punitive tariff” on any country that refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocols. (Der Speigal, 11-16-06) Bravo.

Three big questions for your elected representatives:

#1: Have you stood on the floor of your legislative chamber to demand urgent action on climate change? Have you introduced or sponsored legislation to compel reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases and the re-tooling of industry, commerce and personal life styles to achieve significantly less destructive carbon footprint?

#2: What have you done in your personal life and in your legislative office to go green? In what ways are you personnally and professionally living and working differently than before? What kind of an example are you setting for your colleagues and your constituents?

#3: Have you gone onto the streets and the airwaves and into community groups to speak directly to your constituents about global warming and climate change? What have you done to raise awareness and educate the citizenry?

Demand answers and accountability.

Here are three news items, which contain vital information to enrich your conversation with your elected representatives or their staffs:

Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing the most to protect against climate change, but their efforts are not nearly enough, according to a report released Monday by environmental groups. The United States -- the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases -- ranked at 53, with only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia doing worse.
``We don't have any winners. We only have countries that are better compared to others,'' said Matthias Duwe of the Climate Action Network-Europe, which released the data at the U.N. climate conference. ``We don't have big shining stars.''
The index ranks 56 countries that were part of a 1992 climate treaty or that contribute at least 1 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The countries make up 90 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Elizabeth A. Kennedy, Nations ranked on global warming: U.S. IS FOURTH WORST IN WORKING TO SLOW CLIMATE CHANGE, Associated Press, 11-14-06

EU climate policy is gearing up to confront the US. Imports from countries that refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol could be subject to punitive tariff duties -- a new measure intended to pressure the Bush Administration. A climate tax on flights may also be introduced.
A pollution tax? The EU is considering it.
One press conference followed another at the United Nations climate talks in Nairobi, and everyone got to chime in. The UN, the Climate Change Secretariat, national governments and international bodies like the European Union -- their statements were generally boring, since the summit hadn't arrived at anything new. That changed Wednesday evening, when the EU delegation issued an invitation to the day's final meeting, where a serious threat to the United States was formulated.
Irish EU delegate Avril Doyle said the European Commission was considering a punitive tariff on imports from countries guilty of gross environmental irresponsibility. The measure would specifically target Australia and the United States.
An expert committee or "High Level Group (HLG) on Competitiveness, Energy and the Environment" created by the EU nine months ago is looking into the issue, according to Doyles…. Volker Mrasek, EUROPE LOOKS AT CLIMATE CHANGE Pollution Penalties for the US?, Der Speigel, 11-16-06

The Bush administration and the 109th Congress haven't understood these stakes. Hopefully, the 110th Congress will. Incoming Senate Environment and Public Works chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) recently said, "Time is running out, and we need to move forward on this." The Bush administration's chief climate negotiator, however, promised conference participants that the White House would continue to do as little as possible…Senate Environment and Public Works chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) has been one of America's most vocal climate skeptics, calling global warming the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people" and the Kyoto Protocol "a lot of economic pain for no climate gain." (He's wrong.) But when the 110th Congress takes office in January, the new chairwoman, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has promised to begin "a very long process of extensive hearings" on global warming and hopes to put together a global warming bill that addresses all contributors to carbon dioxide emissions. "He [Inhofe] thinks global warming is a hoax and I think it is the challenge of our generation," Boxer said recently. "We have to move on it." In the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who is poised to take over as the Energy and Commerce Committee, is expected to hold a series of hearings on global warming. Incoming chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, Henry Waxman, will likely "conduct extensive oversight of federal agency efforts on environmental and energy matters, primarily climate change." ENVIRONMENT, Changing Climate Apathy, Center for American Progress, 11-15-06

Want to participate in the effort to mitigate the impact of global warming? Download "Ten Things You Can Do"

There is a powerful magic in personal commitment.

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Global Warming, Energy Security, Environmental Security, Alternate Energy, Sustainability, Green Power, Renewable Resources, Climate Change, Weather, Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, Extreme Weather, Crisis Management,Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, EUClimate Action Network,Richard Power, Words of Power